Heat wave prompts 2-day holiday

Voters brave the blistering heat at a polling booth in Guwahati on Thursday. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, April 24: The Kamrup (metro) district administration today announced a two-day holiday for all schools in the city in view of extreme heat conditions.

Government and private schools will remain closed from tomorrow.

“Considering unprecedented heat condition even in April, the administration has decided to declare the holidays for the schools,” deputy commissioner Ashutosh Agnihotri told The Telegraph this evening.

Schools in Guwahati were closed today because of polls in Gauhati parliamentary constituency.

The administration’s order came on the day when the city broke a 15-year-old record by registering its hottest day in April with the mercury touching 40.6 degrees Celsius.

The last time the city recorded the highest temperature of 40.1 degrees Celsius was on April 17, 1999.

“The administration has taken the decision keeping in mind possible health hazards that might arise because of such extreme heat conditions. There are reports of many children falling sick as a result of the intense and continuous heat in the last few days,” a source said.

Anima Sarma, a government schoolteacher, welcomed the decision of the administration and hoped that the weather would change by Monday when schools are expected to reopen.

“Many parents had approached the school authorities to declare holidays to beat the heat. But we were helpless and cannot take the decision by ourselves. Only the administration can take the decision,” Sarma said.

The Regional Meteorological Centre at Borjhar predicted that the heat wave condition would continue for the next few days.

Though partly cloudy skies are predicted in the city tomorrow, the possibilities or chances of rain are remote.